Garter fastener



July 2, 1957 KUCII-ILER 2,797,465

' GARTER FASTENER Filed April 9, 1954 F/a H 7-7612 F/aa 2M4 1mm UnitedStates Patent O 2,797,465 GARTER FASTENER Erich Kiichler, Wieshadcn,Germany Application April 9, 1954, SerialNo. 422,181

Claimspriority, application Germany April 15, 1953 screams. 01. 24-247The'presentinvention relatesytoa fastener for garters,

suspenders, and the like, consisting of a framelike memher-and a buttonadapted to be inserted and to slide therein one or both members havingsurfaces cooperating to wedge against each, other to produce a clampingaction for gripping a piece of thin wearing material ,between thesemembers.

Fastenersof this general type have'been known for many years. Generally,however, their fastening action is produced 'by the framelike memberwedging the fabric between the upper surface of the button strap and thelower surface of the frame member, or between such upper surface and thelower surface of the button itself. In either event, therefore, thefastening action of these prior fasteners was produced to a substantialdegree by the friction upon the upper surface of the button carryingstrap. Due :to such design, even the most advanced types of fasteners ofthis. kind have the disadvantage that they easily damage the thin fabricwhich they are supposed to support since .at least one of the twomembers is made of relatively non-elastic material. Also, such priorfasteners have the disadvantage that the soft, elastic button, usuallyof rubber, easily deteriorates and eventually tears off.

It is therefore the object of the present invention to overcome thesedisadvantages of the prior art and to design a garter fastener in whichthe two fastener elements automatically lock together and securely holdthe stocking or other garment; in which both elements are made ofrelatively soft, resilient material and will not come apart when in use;will not deteriorate by the moisture of the skin; and, last not least,will not harm the most sensitive fabric fastened thereon.

A feature of the invention for attaining these objects resides-ratherthan in utilizing the upper surface of the fastener strap for thefastening or wedging actionin providing the outer sides of the buttonmember with grooves whtich cooperate with corresponding springlikeportions at the inner edges of the frame member in a conventionalmanner, except for the fact that, according to the invention, thegrooves and springlike portions are parallel to each other but ofwedgelike configuration in a vertical direction. Thus, by thecooperation of two separate clamping portions, i. e. the parallelsurfaces and the spring action between them, on the one hand, and thewedgelike surfaces on the other hand, the forces occurring can easily betaken up by the arms of the frame member so that a considerably moreelastic material can be used than was possible with previous garterfasteners. The interacting wedge shape of the spring-like portions andgrooves, which, however, extend parallel to each other, ensures agarment, such as stockings, of being permanently gripped withoutpermitting the arms of the frame member to be forced outwardly and thebutton part to slip therethrough.

Further objects, features, and advantages of the invention will appearfrom the following detailed description ceive a square button 4*so astoslide therein.

2,797,465 Patented July 2, 1957 "ice of one embodiment thereof and theaccompanying draw- 'ings,-in which I Fig. 1 shows a front view of thesupporting and clamping-elements'ofa garter ifastener in operativeposition;

tening element; and

Fig. 6 is a section similar to Fig. 2 showing a modification of thegarter fastener.

Referring to the-drawings, the fasener element 1 has a lower part 2 offramelike design which is adapted to re- For this purpose, the inneredgesof the lower half of-the frame 2 are provided withparallel-raillike projections 3 which actas springs, and are adapted toslide within parallel grooves 15 0f the square button4 each of thegrooves 5 being formed by -a pair of flanges 5. lower surfaces of boththe rails 3 and the grooves 5 are The upper and converging in upwarddirection so that, if a garment (not shown) is-clamped between'the parts1 and 4, and a tension is applied thereto in downward direction, suchtension will automatically increase the interlocking effect tabs 6, andthe upper tab may be extendedand secured tothe cross bar 7 of theelement '1 to form a hanger 6' to prevent'the button strap -4 from beinglost when not in use as shown in Fig. 6. Also, the thickness ofthe-fastener element 1 may gradually increase ln-dOWl'lWaId direction tostrengthen the lower part 2 thereof which, in cooperation with thebutton 4, has to bear the downward strain applied thereto by therespective garment.

Although in the embodiment shown in the drawings, the resilientprojections 3 are provided on the fastener element 1 and the cooperatinggrooves 5 on the button 4, the same effect will also be obtained if theposition of these interlocking portions be reversed and the grooves beprovide-d in the element 1 and the projections on the button 4.

The same result will also be obtained if the position of the twofastener elements 1 and 4 be reversed by making able thereon.

Even though the new fastener may be made of any kind of material, highlyelastic plastics are preferred since they are less liable to wear out ortear a sensitive fabric such as a sheer stocking than any other kind.

Having thus described my invention in detail, what I claim is:

1. A garter fastener comprising, in combination, a frame member havingupper and lower portions and formed with an elongated cutout extendingbetween said upper and lower portions to provide said frame member witha pair of side portions separated from each other by said cutout; and afastening button extending in an operating position thereof through saidcutout between said side portions and being movable along said sideportions of said frame member, said side portions of said frame memberhaving, respectively, inner side edges directed toward each other andsaid button having outer side edges directed in said operating positiontowards said inner side edges, respectively, to provide a pair of innerside edges respectively directed toward a pair of outer side edges, oneof said pair of side edges respectively having elongated resilientprojections located opposite each other in said cutout and extendingsubstantially parallel to each other along said side portions of saidframe .tion of said frame member.

2. A garter fastener comprising, in combination, a

tframevmember having upper and lower portions and formed with anelongated cutout extending between said upper and lower portions toprovide said frame member .with a pair of side portions separated fromeach other by said cutout; and a fastening button extending in anoperating position thereof through said cutout between said sideportions and being movable along said side portions of said framemember, said side portions of said frame member having, respectively,inner side edges directed toward each other and said button having outerside edges directed in said operating position towards said inner sideedges, respectively, said frame member having a pair of elongatedresilient projections substantially parallel to each other and extendingrespectively from said inner side edges of said frame member along thebottom part thereof into said cutout, and each of said outer side edgesof said button being formed with an elongated groove, said grooves beingsubstantially parallel to each other, and said projections beingrespectively located in said grooves when said button is in said cutoutadjacent said lower portion of said frame member, said projections andsaid grooves each having a bottom end larger than its opposite end andbeing wedge-shaped between said ends, said projections beingsubstantially in one plane, gradually increasing in thickness in adirection normal to said plane and being respectively wedged in saidgrooves when said button is adjacent said lower portion of said framemember.

3. A garter fastener comprising, in combination, a frame member having abottom portion and being formed with an elongated cutout extendingupwardly from said bottom portion; and a clamping member movable inlongitudinal direction of said cutout and extending in an operatingposition through said cutout, said members being formed from flexibleplastic material, one of said members having a pair of substantiallyparallel projections located substantially in one plane and respectivelyon opposite sides of said cutout and the other of said members beingformed with a pair of substantially parallel grooves each formed by apair of flanges, said projections being when said clamping member is insaid operating position respectively located in said grooves, each ofsaid projections having one end which is in a direction normal to saidplane thicker than its opposite end and gradually increasing inthickness between said ends so that said projections are wedge-shaped inlongitudinal direction and each of said grooves having one end largerthan its opposite end and being wedge-shaped in longitudinal direction,said projections being respectively wedged in said grooves when saidclamping member is adjacent said bottom portion of said frame member,whereby said flanges forming said grooves are flexed in a directionsubstantially normal to said plane.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS299,726 Bray June 3, 1884 797,884 Barlow Aug. 22, 1905 2,066,957Wratschko Jan. 5, 1937 FOREIGN PATENTS 572,286 Great Britain of 1945270,521 Switzerland of 1950

